Dinners

Beef and Guinness Pie

How 'diddly-dee' Irish, I know ... but if it's good, it's good. There is a deep richness of flavour that comes from the Guinness that enriches everything else without overpowering it.

Ingredients

500g stewing steak pieces

2 heaped tablespoons plain flour

Sea salt and black pepper to season

1 large onion

2 carrots

2 parsnips

3 sticks of celery

Rapeseed oil

500ml can of Guinness

500g pack of puff pastry

1 egg, beaten

Method

• Pat the steak pieces dry with kitchen paper. Put the flour on a plate and season it with a generous pinch of sea salt and black pepper, then roll the steak pieces in the seasoned flour until fully covered in a good coating. Shake off any excess flour.

• Peel and chop the onion, carrots and parsnips and wash and chop the celery, then set aside.

• In a large saucepan heat 2 tablespoons of oil over a high heat, add the steak pieces in small batches to brown them all over before removing, with a slotted spoon, onto kitchen paper.

• When all the meat is browned, carefully wipe down the saucepan with kitchen paper and return to a medium heat. Add a tablespoon of oil and fry the onion until softened but not coloured, then add in the carrots, parsnips and celery. Fry these for 8–10 minutes, then add the beef back in along with all of the Guinness.

• Bring the saucepan to the boil, then cover and reduce to a steady simmer for 45 minutes.

• Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Pour the contents of the saucepan carefully into an ovenproof dish.

• Roll out the puff pastry and cover the dish with it, pressing around the edges and trimming off the excess. Pierce a few times with a sharp knife and brush over with the beaten egg to give it colour.

• Place in the oven and bake for 35–40 minutes until the pastry is golden and delicious.

• Serve with some mashed potatoes for a warm hearty meal.